Letter: Unwilling to take chance on fracking

The Thomas Elias column about the "benefits" of expanded fracking ("Fracking: Potential miracle and big challenge," April 14) was really about Gov. Jerry Brown and what decision he may make. Three weeks ago, I attended a rally at the state Capitol to ban expanded fracking.

The writer believes it is a very good thing for California because it could provide up to 100,000 jobs. Really? That would happen only if every 10 miles of California were being fracked. It's pie-in-the-sky hype to get the public to buy into it, no questions asked. A sizable expansion could create 10,000 jobs, maybe.

Every fracking site uses at least 1 million gallons of water to crack open the subterranean rock. We will be rationing California water very soon. Should any of our scarce water resources be used to frack? It's 1 million gallons of water laced with chemicals that the industry refuses to divulge to the public. More secrecy. That should cause deep concern.

California water hasn't been polluted -- yet -- but fracking has polluted waters in other states. Although it has been going on for a number of years in California, it has been pretty low-key. Now the oil industry apparently wants to expand it dramatically. That's the only way it would create lots of new jobs.

In California, we are already living on shaky ground. Here are some quick facts from the July 2013 issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research: Earthquakes recorded in Youngstown, Ohio, from 1776 to 2010: None. Number of tremors recorded in 2011 after a nearby well pumping water from fracking started: 109. Number after the well was shut down the end of 2011: Zero. Are you willing to risk it?

I hope you give this serious thought. Consider the future as well as the present -- the future of your children and grandchildren. Investment in renewable resources will create jobs. If the state and federal governments would invest in renewables, as it does in gas, oil and coal, they would become cheap enough for all of us, and we would be moving in the right direction. Most of our legislators are financially "married" to gas, oil and coal, so we have to demand it.